Gardening with Kids: Getting Started with Easy Herbs

Garden to Table Activity for Kids

I love the idea of growing our foods with my kids. Gardening can teach appreciation for fresh produce and patience while tending to the plants. However, growing vegetables or fruit feels pretty intimidating for a gardening rookie like myself. If you are in the same boat, don't worry! That doesn't mean that this wonderful activity is out of our reach.

Start with easy herbs and the right tools!

Basil and mint are two of the easiest herbs to grow and are perfect for beginner gardeners and kids. To make things even easier to get started, don't forget the kid-friendly gardening tools by Curious Gardener. Curious Gardener Children's 12-piece Gardening Collection has all the kid-friendly gardening tools you need to start your little garden.

My husband recently picked up gardening as a hobby and was excited about the watering can included in the kit. Now my toddler has an appropriate tool to help her dad water the plants instead of waddling around with a bath rinse cup as she did so far. The colorful and kid-sized tools made the activity much more approachable.

Kid Sized Gardening Tools

Last weekend, we had a lovely time as a family planting basil, mint, and sunflower seeds in our yard. For the herbs, we got already-sprouted plants and repotted them into our Curious Gardener pots. I thought, for my youngest, it would be helpful for her to see the herb leaves while gardening to make a visual connection between the garden and to table. We also planted sunflower seeds and will observe how they sprout and grow overtime.

Easy Summer Salad Recipe - Herb, Peach, and Burrata

To wrap up the activity, kids harvested some herbs from our existing basil and mint plant using Curious Gardener garden shears included in the kit. And we move to my main domain, our kitchen! Kids helped assemble a summer salad with peaches, burrata cheese, mint, basil, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, using Curious Chef cooking tools. After playing in our yard under the summer sun, it was the perfect refreshing treat.

-Written in collaboration with White.Blank.Space for Creative QT